Chips in Space: Just the FAQs Ma’am

It's a lot of fun telling the tale about ARISSat-1. So, when we were offered a table at the Microchip MASTERs Conference, we accepted the invitation with enthusiasm. For the conference, we shipped in our fully functional demonstration satellite from the East Coast to Northern Phoenix and put it on display.

It’s a lot of fun telling the tale about ARISSat-1. So, when we were offered a table at the Microchip MASTERs Conference, we accepted the invitation with enthusiasm. For the conference, we shipped in our fully functional demonstration satellite from the East Coast to Northern Phoenix and put it on display. This not only allowed attendees to see what ARISSat-1 looks like up close, but also get to hear it in action. With more than 600 engineers in attendance, there was ample opportunity to answer questions and queries (we tended to draw a crowd during class breaks and evening events).

Steve Bible (N7HPR) on left and Tim Moffat on right talk about ARISSat-1 to Microchip MASTERs attendees.

Following MASTERs, an observation was made; it was very interesting to note the kinds of questions engineers would ask. So that spawned the idea for this post. What are the most frequently asked questions that engineers ask? Maybe they are the same questions you have…

An often asked question was, “Is this the same as the one in flight?” The answer is yes. In the photo above, you can see the fully functional demonstration ARISSat-1 satellite in the lower right. I like to call this one “Number 4.” That’s because there were four space frames machined to create the two satellites that were shipped to Russia: Number 1 for flight and number 2 for backup flight. Units 3 and 4 are here in the States, and number 4 was specifically constructed for show demonstrations. But it is much more than a static display; it has working Internal Housekeeping Unit (IHU) and radio systems, and transmits the same greetings from space, spoken telemetry, BPSK telemetry and transponder as the flight unit (see Post #5 for more details on these systems). We had radios available so attendees could hear the greetings from space and also see the telemetry program, ARISSatTLM, decoding telemetry.

ARISSat-1 Flight Unit #1 on left and Backup Flight #2 on right, ready for crating and shipping to Russia.

There is one major difference; there are Lexan covers in place of the solar panels. This is because we only received eight panels from NASA. In the photo above you can see units 1 and 2, ready for crating. Notice number 1 on the left has solar panels, and unit 2 on the right has Lexan covers. The Lexan covers allow people to peer inside the craft. Which led to another often asked question,“Why is there so much room inside?” There are two reasons. One, it is because ARISSat-1 was to be SuitSat-2, and inside the space frame are the boxes we originally meant to go inside the Orlan space suit. Two, the solar panels dictated the size of the space frame. The satellite measures roughly 21 by 21 by 11 inches, and weighs in at a little over 50 pounds (this was another question we heard a lot).

“How did you get it into space?” To answer this, I would explain that ARISSat-1 was a project of ARISS—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. ARISS is international in scope, and the team coordinates locally with their respective space agencies. For ARISSat-1, ARISS worked with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscomos) and Energia Corporation to “upmass” ARISSat-1 to the International Space Station, and deploy it during a Russian EVA.

“How was it deployed from the Space Station?” People found it amazing that ARISSat-1 was hand carried outside of the ISS and ‘pushed’ away from the space station. I guess because everyone associates satellites with rockets.

“Were the components radiation hardened?” No, they were not. They are plain old off-the-shelf components. Most components are industrial-grade-temperature rated. As of this writing, ARISSat-1 has been operating in space for more than five weeks. With the exception of the battery failing open after eight days, the satellite has been operating nominally. It will be interesting to see how long ARISSat-1 will be operational with plain old off-the-shelf components.

“How long will it last in space?” Since ARISSat-1 was deployed down and away from the International Space Station, this placed it into a very low-Earth orbit. One that is decaying; i.e., ARISSat-1 is getting closer to Earth with every orbit. We estimate that, in about seven months (give or take) ARISSat-1, will reenter the atmosphere and burn up. Sometime before that, the satellite will heat up from friction with the atmosphere, and the electronics will fail at some point from excess heat. AMSAT is sponsoring a Chicken Little Contest if you feel so inclined to participate!

As you can see, the questions were interesting in that one can see engineers love asking technical questions. So, you are in for a real treat in next week’s blog post, as we cover some of the team’s lessons learned.

Oh yeah, in October we’ll be crating and shipping the ARISSat-1 demonstration satellite to San Jose, California for the AMSAT Space Symposium, which takes place November 4-6, 2011. If you stop by, you can see the satellite, listen to the talks, and meet many of the volunteers who made ARISSat-1 happen.

Hi Prabhakar, it is possible to launch an amateur/educational satellite from a rocket. The truth of the matter in today's world: there is no such thing as a free launch (play on the words there is no such thing as a free lunch). Funds have to be raised to pay for the launch. For example, a CubeSat launch will cost upwards of US$80,000 per U per kg.

Very interesting info has come out in the FAQs. I am just interested to know if such a satellite is to be launched using a rocket from the earth would it be possible to put it into the desired orbit without the likes of the sophisticated control stations used by NASA and the likes?

Hi Sanjib, orbital mechanics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_mechanics) is its own science. It is fascinating stuff though. A simple answer is you can do active attitude adjustments such as gas jets. But that's complicated plumbing and values, not to mention safety issues. Or you can do passive such as magnetic torquing and ensuring a low ballistic coefficient.

Hello R.D., I would suggest finding a local Near Space group sending high altitude balloons into near space. One such group is Arizona Near Space Research (http://www.ansr.org/). It has many of the same challenges and gives you great experience working on payloads.

Good to see that you got a great response. I wish I could have been there. But thanks for continuing posting such a nice series of blogs.
Okay, I've a questions:
This might sound very basic but I don't have any knowledge on this subject. I am trying to understand if there is anything that could have done to delay ARRISat-1 getting closure to earth with every orbit. May be something like installing some course correcting engines?...I understand then it becomes very complex as a part-time project. Any other easier ways?

I would have loved to see the unit in person! Thanks for a great followup article! I was wondering about many of the questions you answered. Again, your attention to detail and willingness to feed us engineers with those details is really appreciated. Now I am wondering how to do something like this myself...